Alan St. Louis sings the National Anthem at a lacrosse game at Southern New Hampshire University, Tuesday evening. St. Louis, a Nashua resident, is setting a Guiness Book World Record for the most times singing the National Anthem. He's seen here singing number 111.

Staff Photo by GRANT MORRIS

Alan St. Louis hands over a letter to James Gassman, the Assistant Director of Athletics for Southern New Hampshire University for his signature, Tuesday night, March 27. The letters are significant in that they certify that he in fact sang the National Anthem. St. Louis, a Nashua resident, is setting a Guiness Book World Record for the most times singing the National Anthem

Staff Photo by GRANT MORRIS

A close up on the certification letter that states that St. Louis in fact sang the National Anthem at each game.

Nashua man on track for singing record

NASHUA – The guys on the Southern New Hampshire University men’s lacrosse team know Alan St. Louis – at least some of them.

One of them standing on the sidelines just ahead of a match on March 27 against Saint Anselm College called out, “Let’s go, Al,” as St. Louis stepped up, mic in hand, and belted out “The Star Spangled Banner” for the 111th time in 263 days.

St. Louis got a similar reaction upstairs in the press box, where he spent a few minutes during warm-ups. A referee jogged over when the song was over to give him a pat on the back. He had refereed a game earlier in the day at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. – St. Louis’ 110th performance.

All of this singing started on July 8, and now St. Louis is in good shape to set the world record for most musical performances by an individual or group in a 12-month period.

He has the record for most performances of the national anthem locked up – it doesn’t exist.

St. Louis, a 50-year-old Nashua resident, has been singing in front of audiences since he was about 10, including the anthem at local sporting events for a few years.

At one of the performances last summer, someone joked that he would set a world record soon if he kept singing as often as he was. St. Louis thought, “Why not?”

It turns out no one has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records for the anthem record. St. Louis said all he really has to do is get witness statements for each performance and apply.

But he’s also shooting for the most musical performance record, with a goal of hitting 160 performances by July 7.

“It’s for the challenge, you know? Why not?” St. Louis said on the way to SNHU last week – adding on to the more than 7,000 miles he has driven in the last eight months on the way to and from performances.

“What it represents is very cool for me. I think every performance is unique. None of the performances are the same.”

A two- or three-performance day isn’t unusual. St. Louis has standing engagements all over the region and is constantly on the hunt for schools and teams he wants to contact to squeeze in another few performances.

Some teams, such as the Portland Sea Dogs minor league baseball team, accept applications, which St. Louis submits via YouTube videos, and then hold live auditions.

Last week, St. Louis found out he’s one of 15 finalists to sing the anthem at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon ahead of a NASCAR race.

That would blow away his largest crowd yet – around 12,000 at a New England Revolution game. The smallest crowd was five people at a University of Massachusetts Lowell women’s softball tilt, he said.

St. Louis does quite a lot of singing, and not just “The Star Spangled Banner.” He does the Canadian anthem, as well, and sings in a barbershop quartet and with the Nashua Granite Statesmen chorus.

His wife of 17 years, Debbie St. Louis, was skeptical of the schedule at first, but has gotten onboard since and is helping push him to the 160th performance of the year.

“I have a ‘honey-do’ list that’s adding up,” he said.

St. Louis said his all-time favorite anthem performance is Whitney Houston’s legendary version at Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

So far, he hasn’t forgotten the words once.

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Cote on Twitter (@Telegraph_JoeC).